Song Information

“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is a Southern Gothic murder ballad originally written by Bobby Russell in 1972. It was first recorded and released by Vicki Lawrence, whose version reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. Reba McEntire recorded her powerful cover for her 1991 album For My Broken Heart. Her version introduced the story to a new generation with a darker, cinematic flair, including a dramatized music video that reinforced the eerie tone of the lyrics. The song was released under MCA Records, produced by Tony Brown and Reba McEntire herself. Reba’s performance breathed new emotional depth into the chilling narrative, making it one of the standout tracks in her career.


Song Content

Set in a small Southern town, the song unfolds as a murder mystery told from the perspective of a woman whose brother is wrongly executed. The brother returns home to discover his wife’s infidelity, and after confronting a man named Andy—his best friend and the bearer of the bad news—Andy ends up dead. The brother is arrested, quickly tried, and executed for the murder.

But in a twist revealed at the end, it’s the narrator herself—his sister—who committed the murder. She killed Andy and her brother’s unfaithful wife, hiding the evidence and allowing her brother to be condemned for a crime he didn’t commit. Her motive is never fully explained, but the delivery is cold, calculated, and shrouded in Southern justice.

Reba’s interpretation takes the story to a new level, infusing it with a haunting energy and visual storytelling that highlights themes of betrayal, vengeance, and corruption. The song, wrapped in fiddle-driven instrumentation and a suspenseful rhythm, remains one of country music’s most gripping narratives.


Explaining the Moral Conflict

The biggest source of intrigue in this song is the shocking twist: the sister, who narrates the entire story in a tone of loss and injustice, turns out to be the true killer. This reversal forces listeners to confront complex questions of morality and justice. Is she a villain, or a vigilante acting out of love and protection for her brother?

The sister justifies her actions with a chilling line: “Little sister don’t miss when she aims her gun.” This implies not only that she committed the murders with full intent, but also that she’s capable, precise, and emotionally detached. Her brother’s trial and execution become an indictment not just of legal failure but of the moral gray zones that exist in small-town systems of power.

What makes this song even more gripping is how the justice system fails spectacularly—quick to arrest, judge, and execute a man based on flimsy evidence, while the real criminal watches in silence. The song critiques both blind justice and the underlying corruption or incompetence in small-town authority figures.

Reba’s version leans into this commentary, using dramatic pauses and vocal inflection to enhance the ambiguity and the tension. It’s not just a song—it’s a Southern tragedy.


Watch the Music Video


Lyrics

He was on his way home from CandletopBeen two weeks gone and he thought he’d stopAt Web’s and have him a drink ‘fore he went home to herAndy Wo-Lo said, “Hello”He said, “Hi, what’s new?”And Wo said, “Sit down, I got some bad news that’s gonna hurt”
Said, “I’m your best friend and you know that’s rightBut your young bride ain’t home tonightSince you’ve been gone, she’s been seeing that Amos boy, Seth”Now he got mad and he saw redAndy said, “Boy, don’t you lose your head‘Cause to tell you the truth, I’ve been with her myself”
That’s the night that the lights went out in GeorgiaThat’s the night that they hung an innocent manWell, don’t trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer‘Cause the judge in the town’s got bloodstains on his hands
Andy got scared and left the barWalking on home ’cause he didn’t live far, you seeAndy didn’t have many friends and he just lost him oneBrother thought his wife must have left townSo he went home and finally foundThe only thing Daddy had left him, and that was a gun
He went off to Andy’s houseSlipping through the backwoods quiet as a mouseCame upon some tracks too small for Andy to makeHe looked through the screen at the back porch doorAnd he saw Andy lying on the floorIn a puddle of blood, and he started to shake
The Georgia patrol was making their roundsSo he fired a shot, just to flag ’em downA big-bellied sheriff grabbed his gun and said“Why’d you do it?”
The judge said “guilty” on a make-believe trialSlapped the sheriff on the back with a smileSaid, “Supper’s waiting at home and I got to get to it”
That’s the night that the lights went out in GeorgiaThat’s the night that they hung an innocent manWell, don’t trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer‘Cause the judge in the town’s got bloodstains on his hands
Well, they hung my brother before I could sayThe tracks he saw while on his wayTo Andy’s house and back that night were mineAnd his cheating wife had never left townThat’s one body that’ll never be foundYou see little sister don’t miss when she aims her gun
That’s the night that the lights went out in GeorgiaThat’s the night that they hung an innocent manWell, don’t trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer‘Cause the judge in the town’s got bloodstains on his hands
That’s the night that the lights went out in GeorgiaThat’s the night that they hung an innocent manWell, don’t trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer‘Cause the judge in the town’s got bloodstains on his hands